Thailand News

Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.

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    What do you need before moving from the US to Thailand?

    The Thaiger key takeaways The most common medical emergencies for expats in Thailand include motorcycle accidents, tropical diseases, and food or water-borne illnesses. Air pollution and heat-related conditions like heatstroke also pose serious seasonal health risks, especially in northern and...

  • US embassy on alert after CIA probe report | Thaiger

    US embassy on alert after CIA probe report

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US embassy on alert after CIA probe report The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The US embassy in Bangkok and others all over the world stepped up security and issued warnings for US citizens to be aware that the release of a Senate report on the…

  • NRC pushing PM direct-election plan | Thaiger

    NRC pushing PM direct-election plan

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC pushing PM direct-election plan The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Despite concern and opposition, the National Reform Council (NRC) panel on political reform insisted again yesterday that a direct election of the prime minister would help reduce vote-buying. It added, however, that a winner in…

  • Koh Tao murder trial date brought forward by 2 months | Thaiger

    Koh Tao murder trial date brought forward by 2 months

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao murder trial date brought forward by 2 months The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The hearing of witnesses in the murder case of two British tourists on Surat Thani’s Koh Tao has been moved from February 25 to December 26, 2014, after the Myanmar…

  • Red-shirt Arisman loses appeal, gets a year in jail | Thaiger

    Red-shirt Arisman loses appeal, gets a year in jail

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Red-shirt Arisman loses appeal, gets a year in jail The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a lower court’s ruling and sentenced red-shirt leader Arisman Pongruangrong to one year in prison after finding him guilty of defaming former prime minister Abhisit…

  • NACC expects ‘milestone year’ in fight against graft | Thaiger

    NACC expects ‘milestone year’ in fight against graft

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NACC expects ‘milestone year’ in fight against graft The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) chairman Panthep Klanarongran yesterday stressed that every Thai citizen’s determination and cooperation were essential in fighting graft and creating a corruption-free society. Such community action is necessary for…

  • Police corruption scandal: Amlo agrees to freeze 104 plots held by Pongpat | Thaiger

    Police corruption scandal: Amlo agrees to freeze 104 plots held by Pongpat

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: Amlo agrees to freeze 104 plots held by Pongpat The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Anti-Money Laundering Office yesterday agreed to freeze 104 plots of land worth about 400 million baht jointly held by former crime-buster Pol Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan on…

  • PM not against sale of alcohol on New Year’s | Thaiger

    PM not against sale of alcohol on New Year’s

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM not against sale of alcohol on New Year’s The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha said yesterday that he has no objections to the sale of alcoholic beverages during New Year holidays. When asked about the Public Health Ministry’s plan to…

  • NRC panel sticks to its proposal for directly elected PM and Cabinet | Thaiger

    NRC panel sticks to its proposal for directly elected PM and Cabinet

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC panel sticks to its proposal for directly elected PM and Cabinet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Reform Council panel on political reform yesterday reached a consensus on the direct election of the prime minister and the cabinet, election of MPs from large…

  • Koh Tao suspects plead not guilty | Thaiger

    Koh Tao suspects plead not guilty

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao suspects plead not guilty The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two Myanmar suspects have pleaded innocent in court over charges related to the murders of two British tourists on Koh Tao. Their case is being closely watched, as the brutal crime made headlines both…

  • Former ICT official’s son accused of B281mn stock fraud | Thaiger

    Former ICT official’s son accused of B281mn stock fraud

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Former ICT official’s son accused of B281mn stock fraud The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have placed under arrest Panasan Somchevita, the 33-year-old son of a former permanent secretary for the ICT Ministry, after 21 people accused him of duping them out of 281 million…

  • Surrender and fight for justice, police tell Nopporn | Thaiger

    Surrender and fight for justice, police tell Nopporn

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Surrender and fight for justice, police tell Nopporn The Nation/ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Royal Thai Police spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri has called on fugitive billionaire Nopporn Suppipat to turn himself in, and fight what the businessman claims are unfair allegations and distortions of the facts…

  • Billionaire wanted in Pongpat case ‘may have fled to Canada’ | Thaiger

    Billionaire wanted in Pongpat case ‘may have fled to Canada’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Billionaire wanted in Pongpat case ‘may have fled to Canada’ Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Billionaire businessman Nopporn Suppipat – wanted over the alleged abduction and intimidation of someone he owed Bt120 million to – may have travelled to Canada after hiding in Cambodia, a police source said…

  • Police corruption fugitive a billionaire Thai in the business world | Thaiger

    Police corruption fugitive a billionaire Thai in the business world

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption fugitive a billionaire Thai in the business world The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nopporn “Nick” Suppipat, president of Wind Energy Holding (WEH), is accused of being involved in a scandal linked to former Central Investigation Bureau chief Gen Pongpat Chayapan. It is alleged…

  • Preparations underway for Deep South peace talks | Thaiger

    Preparations underway for Deep South peace talks

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Preparations underway for Deep South peace talks The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: As moves to restore peace in the Deep South go into motion, the Army’s chief adviser Gen Aksara Kerdpol said yesterday that he will speak with facilitators in Malaysia in the middle of…

  • Police Corruption Scandal: Border patrols hunt for more Pongpat associates | Thaiger

    Police Corruption Scandal: Border patrols hunt for more Pongpat associates

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police Corruption Scandal: Border patrols hunt for more Pongpat associates The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Arrest warrants have been issued for two more suspects allegedly involved in a series of intimidation cases associated with former crime-buster Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan, Phra Khanong police said yesterday.…

  • BMA ready to order Aetas hotel demolition | Thaiger

    BMA ready to order Aetas hotel demolition

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community BMA ready to order Aetas hotel demolition The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Aetas hotel will be the largest building to face a demolition order from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for breaking regulations, its BMA deputy permanent secretary Kritsada Kluntanont said yesterday. “We have ordered…

  • Prosecutors claim case against Koh Tao Myanmar pair is solid: source | Thaiger

    Prosecutors claim case against Koh Tao Myanmar pair is solid: source

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors claim case against Koh Tao Myanmar pair is solid: source The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Public prosecutors expect the case against two Myanmar suspects accused of murdering two British tourists on Koh Tao to be treated seriously by a court in the South because…

  • Govt urged to defer increase in VAT | Thaiger

    Govt urged to defer increase in VAT

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt urged to defer increase in VAT The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s leading private organisations are urging the government to delay the planned increase in value-added tax next year, saying that Thais will not be ready to pay more during what is expected to…

  • Charter panel brushes aside call for direct election of Cabinet, PM | Thaiger

    Charter panel brushes aside call for direct election of Cabinet, PM

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Charter panel brushes aside call for direct election of Cabinet, PM The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The suggestion for Thais to directly elect both the prime minister and members of Cabinet has been brushed aside by a subcommittee of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) working…

  • Missing Karen activist ‘never released’ after arrest | Thaiger

    Missing Karen activist ‘never released’ after arrest

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Missing Karen activist ‘never released’ after arrest The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A police probe into CCTV footage suggests that missing Karen activist Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen was never released following his arrest on a petty offence by Kaeng Krachan National Park officials, police investigators said…

  • Royal family to hold much-awaited public audience | Thaiger

    Royal family to hold much-awaited public audience

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Royal family to stage much-awaited public audience The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Their Majesties the King and Queen, HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, will grant a much-awaited public audience at the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall at 10.30am on Friday.…

  • Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel | Thaiger

    Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Court orders demolition of luxury Bangkok hotel The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: AETAS, a luxury 24-storey hotel in Soi Ruamrudee, Bangkok, faces demolition within 60 days on the orders of the Supreme Administrative Court, which yesterday upheld an earlier ruling that the construction violated building…

  • VAT hike will give more room for budget deficit: Sommai | Thaiger

    VAT hike will give more room for budget deficit: Sommai

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community VAT hike will give more room for budget deficit: Sommai The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Finance Ministry is likely to increase the value-added tax (VAT) by at least 1 per cent at the end of next year, giving it room to widen the budget…

  • Plan to tear down palace wall opposed | Thaiger

    Plan to tear down palace wall opposed

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Plan to tear down palace wall opposed The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: THE Fine Arts Department has registered the whole compound of King Taksin’s palace, including its wall, as a historical site since 1929, ruling out any moves to have it dismantled. The Royal Thai…

  • Anti-mine protest leader shot dead | Thaiger

    Anti-mine protest leader shot dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Anti-mine protest leader shot dead The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The leader of protests against a barite mining operation was shot dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Nopphitam district on Sunday night, police said. Pithan Thongpanang, 45, was shot two times – once in the body…

  • Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings | Thaiger

    Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Public prosecutors are preparing to arraign two Myanmar suspects today on charges related to the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao in September. “Evidence presented by investigators is…

  • Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’ | Thaiger

    Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A bounty of 1 million baht has been offered for information leading to the arrest of a much-wanted Pattani-based businessman accused of trading in contraband petrol and bribing police. Royal Thai Police…

  • Public hearings on reform to start on December 27 | Thaiger

    Public hearings on reform to start on December 27

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Public hearings on reform to start on December 27 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Legislative Assembly will commence public hearings on national reform and reconciliation in the northeastern provinces of Mukdahan and Bueng Karn in late December. Under the process, NLA vice president…

  • American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US | Thaiger

    American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community American arrested for sex crimes in Thailand and the US The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested an American man for sex crimes allegedly committed in the United States and Thailand. Thomas Andrew Erickson, 47, who is also known as Andrew McLean or Barry…

  • Hunt continues for more corrupt officials | Thaiger

    Hunt continues for more corrupt officials

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt continues for more corrupt officials The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are tracing more corrupt officials after probing lists of bribe-takers seized from a fugitive, Pattani-based businessman who ran an illegal band petrol trade in the far South. Initial findings showed some 12 million…